NRA Claims Big Brother Laying Groundwork for "AWB": A top National Rifle Association official said the Obama administration is using the increased publicity surrounding drug cartels in Mexico as an opportunity to push for reinstating the ban on semi-assault weapons. "They're trying to piggyback this whole phony issue on the back of the tragedy in Mexico," said Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the gun-rights group, on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. In a speech in Mexico last week, President Obama - who on the campaign trail called for the ban, which expired in 2004, to be reinstated - said the prohibition made sense but the country should focus on enforcing existing laws for now. White House senior adviser David Axelrod said the administration will "monitor" the issue, which is complicated by opposition from dozens of moderate Democrats... (One can only hope that "semi-assault weapons" is some sort of typo and not a new buzzword.) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/19/nra-white-house-pushing-weapons-ban-reinstatement/ White House Advisor Speaks: White House senior adviser David Axelrod said on Sunday that a new ban on assault-style weapons is not "dead," but now is not the time to push it in Congress. "The question is is there the consensus and the ability, given the rules of Congress and the realities of Congress, to move that in the midst of everything else that we have to do. Is that something that you want to embark on now?" he said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation." ...Is there a timetable then to go after assault weapons, Smith asked. "We'll monitor the issue, and if there's a consensus, we'll move on it," Axelrod said. "But, Harry, as you know, we're faced with an enormous array of challenges and we need to make some choice as to which to pursue first." http://www.politico.com/blogs/politicolive/0409/Axelrod_Not_afraid_of_the_NRA_.html Pennsylvania Governor Chimes In: Taking his campaign for stronger gun control measures to the national stage, Gov. Rendell squared off with a top National Rifle Association official on national television today over the federal ban on assault weapons. Speaking on CBS's Face the Nation, Rendell said there was no "rational reason" to allow the sale of assault weapons. "They are used for only one reason...to kill and maim people," he said. Rendell, who has fought unsuccessfully for years in the state Legislature for tougher gun control, revived his efforts following the slayings this month of three Pittsburgh police officers, killed by a man armed with an AK-47 assault rifle. At least one of the police officers would have been alive, Rendell contended, had the shooter not wielded a semi-automatic weapon, he said... (A lever-action .30-30, legal for hunting in Pennsylvania, fires a more powerful round than an SKS or AK-47.) http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/Rendell_debates_NRA_on_gun_control.html --- Big Brother's Gun Lies: The "liar, liar pants on fire" argument usually isn't the most effective. But when it comes to guns, President Obama is lying through his teeth... It is ridiculous for Mr. Obama to blame Mexico's lawlessness on Americans as if the longstanding corruption of Mexican elected officials, judges and law-enforcement officers has nothing to do with it. One of the root causes of corruption is low pay. Mexican police earn $460 a month, sometimes less, which makes bribes hard to resist. There are about 350,000 policemen in Mexico. The $400 million Mr. Obama has promised for his anti-gun program could raise the annual salary of every Mexican cop by $1,143, a 21 percent increase. But the president wouldn't be interested in that because his real agenda is to pursue gun control here at home. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/20/obamas-gun-lies/ --- Mexican Drug Gangs Seek, Obtain Bigger Guns: An escalating arms race among Mexico's drug cartels casts doubt on whether Mexico or the U.S. can stop the flow of weaponry, despite renewed vows last week from presidents of both countries. Stockpiles captured by Mexican soldiers show that warring traffickers are now obtaining military-grade weaponry such as grenades, launchers, machine guns, mortars and anti-tank rockets. Some drug gangs have even sought explosive material that some experts worry could be used in car bombs and improvised explosive devices of the kind used in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers found 14 sticks of TNT among an arsenal of hundreds of rifles and grenades seized in November from a house in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas... Even as the governments try to choke off the U.S. weapons supply, the gangs are clearly trying to expand their arsenals beyond the assault rifles and semi-automatics they can get in the United States... http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_rVk1HgkFiFfebRbfBx-lHnZGZgD97M25K81 --- Homeland Security and an Old Article: I've always disliked the term "Homeland Security," from the very first time I heard George Bush utter it in a national address. There's just something Motherland/Fatherland creepy about it, and the recent DHS reports on "rightwing extremism" and "southbound weapons smuggling" confirm the fascist touch that seems to accompany everything the federal government oversees. I remember being bugged when we as citizens were basically told that going about our business was the best contribution we could make to what should be civil defense. Well we've gone about our business. The government has gone about theirs. And we're a much less free society as a result... The April 1959 issue of Guns Magazine is now online, and I call your special attention to the article starting on page 38, "The American Rifleman in Civil Defense" by William B. Edwards and David Soule. Go. Read. http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d18-50yearold-article-outlines-real-homeland-security --- The Beat Goes On: Last Monday, the morning after "60 Minutes" ran a feature on the nationwide trend that shows a dramatic increase in the sales of guns and ammunition, a young man walked into the Trading Post in Quechee. "He was the first customer I had," said Wayne Barrows, the owner of the sporting goods shop. "He buys $1,100 worth of guns - a rifle, a shotgun and a handgun - because '60 Minutes' ... made him afraid. He watched that show." The next day, a customer stopped by at the New England Outdoorsman in Rutland, looking to purchase some ammunition from Mike Pratico, the owner of the shop. "He told me he has 17,000 rounds of 7.62 ammo and he wanted more," Pratico said. "He said he was afraid that it would become so expensive he wouldn't be able to buy it in the future." Pratico couldn't help the man. "I said I didn't have any. I was out," Pratico said. http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/BT/20090419/NEWS01/904190365/0/BENNETT Pistol permit applications are up in every local county, and attendance has increased at gun shows across the state. There's a 40-name waiting list for vendors who want to be part of this weekend's gun show at the state fairgrounds, according to organizers. There were 164 pistol permit applications in Onondaga County last month, compared with 86 in March of last year, according to the county sheriff's department. Jeanne Chmura, pistol permit clerk for Madison County, said 90 pistol permits were processed in 2008. "We've already taken in about 60 to 70 this year, if that tells you anything," she said. The gun-buying trend is a nationwide phenomenon and has been fed by rumors that Obama wants to ban "all guns," even though he has never said that. Add to that the uncertainty about the economy and concerns about violent crime... http://www.syracuse.com/today/index.ssf/2009/04/why_the_run_on_guns_and_ammo.html About 5,000 people turned out for the Syracuse gun show Saturday. "Sales have been very brisk, very brisk," said gun dealer Jack Herbst. "People are afraid of what the government is going to do, and what the people on the east and west coast are going to come up with next to further regulate this stuff, and it's sort of a panic buy unfortunately." With the recent shootings in Binghamton, gun control is once again a hot topic. "We can have all the gun legislation and all the rules that are available, but if a man is crazy, he's crazy," said Doug Roberts, one of the show's directors. "We have so many rules and so many laws on the books, they can't enforce what they've got." Organizers say the show sticks to the rules. Everyone who purchases a gun must be cleared through the National Criminal Background Check System... http://news10now.com/content/all_news/137716/gun-show-highlights-debate-over-regulations/Default.aspx There's been a record-breaking run on concealed weapons permits in the state in what gun store owners and activists say is fueled by political and economic uncertainty. Utah issued 15,389 concealed weapons permits in the first three months of the year, shattering the previous record of 11,996, which was set in the second quarter of 2008. Traditionally, slightly more permits have gone out of state than to Utah residents. But in the most recent quarter, permits going to Utahns edged out those going to non-residents, said Lt. Doug Anderson, Bureau of Criminal Identification manager... The last quarter of 2008 showed a huge jump in gun sales, and while that dropped in the last three months, the overall upward trend appears to be continuing. "People are choosing to go about it legally and getting the training to lawfully carry firearms for self defense," Aposhian said. Gun dealers are scrambling to keep up with purchases. "Supply is not necessarily meeting demand right now," said Oly Mann, general manager of Fuzzy Bunny Movie Guns. "There's still a big surge. Supply is down and it's getting worse." Demand for all types of guns has increased, he said, and the concealed carry classes the store offers are consistently full. He says many people buying firearms are first-time gun owners... http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_12167687 Table Presents NICS statistics through March 31, 2009. http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/nics/nics_checks_total.htm --- New York Senators Want Longer Retention of NICS Records: New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are calling for the repeal of federal policy requiring records of gun background checks be destroyed after 24 hours. The Democratic lawmakers say the Tiahrt Amendment restricts police from using gun trace information. They say such information is crucial to cracking down on illegal gun trafficking and reducing gun violence. Schumer and Gillibrand are urging President Barack Obama to reinstate a 90-day retention period. Obama has said he supports the repeal of the amendment. http://www.1010wins.com/Sen--Schumer-Urges-Repeal-of-Gun-Records-Policy/4228780 --- Paranoia?: ...I long ago discovered that when you read one person's accusations against another, you often learn far more about the accuser than the accused. That is precisely the case with the April 7 Department of Homeland Security intelligence assessment -- sent to local police agencies around the country - warning of the danger posed by so-called paranoid right-wing extremists who might be capable of launching violent attacks against the federal government. The report offers little, if any, insight into the minds of right-wingers, but speaks volumes about the mind-set and current capabilities of our domestic "intelligence" resources. The nine-page document is a pastiche of presumptions, speculations, arbitrary conclusions, discriminations and gross stereotyping of all those xenophobic rubes out there in flyover country, clinging desperately to their Bibles and their guns... http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/43242937.html --- Churches and Guns Must Mix: Author Charl Van Wyk, who shot back at terrorists attacking a church meeting, will be touring the U.S. with tales of his African ministry, including his first-hand experience with Christian churches that aren't prepared to defend themselves. Van Wyk's story of shooting back on July 25, 1993, when terrorists attacked and killed 11 people and injured another five dozen at a South African church, has been chronicled in "Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self-Defense." But police later told him the terrorists confessed their plan was to kill everyone in the church, possibly 1,000 people or more, and his armed response is credited with saving many lives that day... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=94591 --- Connecticut Students Conduct Empty-Holster Protest: Philip Axelrod and Sara Adler say they don't want to be defenseless targets. "There are people out there who are off-balance and who shoot up schools," Axelrod, 20, said. "I don't want to be caught up in a situation where I have to lay down and die." Axelrod, a University of Connecticut student, and Adler, who attends Central Connecticut State University, are leading "empty holster" protests next week at both schools to lobby for the right to carry concealed handguns on campus. Although state law permits eligible people 21 and older to carry handguns, student conduct codes at both universities prohibit possession of firearms on campus. The weeklong protest - which launches Monday, the 10th anniversary of the mass killings at Columbine High School in Colorado - is being held to raise awareness about a national organization, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus [ www.concealedcampus.org]. The group advocates self-defense and seeks to form a front line against another slaughter like the one at Virginia Tech in 2007... http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-guns-on-campus-0417.artapr17,0,3888689.story --- A Visit to Knob Creek (Video): http://current.com/items/87302871_machine-gun-shootout.htm -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .